Identification and Background

Introduced in 1995, the PowerBook 5300 was Apple’s first laptop to use the PowerPC processor architecture. The base model most notably featured a 100MHz processor, 8Mb of RAM, and a hot swappable expansion port. Unfortunately, however, the laptop suffered from a few problems, especially overheating batteries and faulty power connectors.

Troubleshooting

Upgrades

There are a number of components in the Powerbook 5300 that may be easily upgraded.

Memory: The Powerbook 5300 came with eight or sixteen MB of RAM stock, and could be upgraded to accept up to 64 MB of RAM. Upgrading will provide a dramatic performance boost. You can upgrade to more RAM for a total of 64 MB very easily.

Hard Drive: 500 MB, 750 MB or 1.1 GB hard drives came standard with the Powerbook 5300. You can easily upgrade the drive to up to 8.2 GB.

Battery: The battery is easily replaceable. Replacing an aging battery can allow your Powerbook 5300 to run for significantly longer on a charge.